Thursday 10 November 2016

Nottingham's Lost Pubs Part 1 Hyson Green

This is a sad list of pubs that i have been in many times in the Hyson Green area of Nottingham,many done with mates and all done with my wife at some point.
All are now closed down making Hyson Green an almost pub free zone.
For anyone who knows this area of Nottingham i will be listing the pubs going up Radford Road from its junction with Bentinck Road.

Langham

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

A really rough and ready pub that had a couple of rooms.
This was a Kimberley tied house and did have Kimberley Bitter and Mild on the bar in real form.
A pub i have done quite a few times with the wife and mates,some of the customers were very dodgy and ladies of the night frequented the pub on our last few visits.
The pub is still standing,but long gone.
Pub first visited 2nd July 1982

Smiths Arms

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

Another very basic pub which was on the opposite side of the road from the Langham and a bit further down Radford Road
The pub had decent sized  bar room to the front which had basic bench seating,there was a separate lounge to the rear which we never went in.
The pub was an Home Ales tied house with a decent drink of Home Ales bitter and Mild on the bar
Ive done this pub loads of times and did it with my wife quite a few times after leaving Goose Fair.
I have seen some sights in this pub over the years.
Now sadly closed down.
Pub first visited 2nd July 1982

Radford Arms

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

The Radford Arms was a few doors down from the Smiths Arms,you can see its pub sign behind the Nottinghmam City bus on the Smiths Arms photo.
The pub had a single room which was long and narrow,the pub was an Ind Coope tied house and on my first few visits there were a couple of real ales on,the Ind Coope bitter and Burton Bitter were decent drinks.
This pub was very popular with the large black community who lived in Hyson Green.
The pub always had a rough edge to it.
The Radford Arms is now closed down and is operating as a restaurant.
Pub first visited 2nd July 1982.

The Cricket Players
Photo taken by Alan Winfield

This was a Shipstones tied house that was built to serve the notorious Hyson Green flats complex,some of the low rise flats can be seen behind the pub on my photo.
It was situated on the other side of Radford Road and a bit further down from the Radford Arms.
I have only been in this pub twice,the first visit with a mate found the pub full of rastas who seemed none to happy about us going in,but we did anyway.
The Shipstones Bitter seemed very fizzy and may have been the rare keg version of it.
All of the deck access flats have now gone due to too much trouble,but the tower block is still standing.
The Cricket Players is now closed and when i last passed it was being used as a car wash base.
Pub first visited 2nd July 1982.

Old General

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

This was an Home Ales tied house that was on the opposite side of Radford Road from the Cricket Players and a bit further down the road.
The pub had a couple of rooms inside with a basic bar and a more comfortable lounge,the Home Mild and Bitter were decent drinks in this pub.
I always thought this was probably the least rough of the pubs along this stretch of Radford Road.
This pub has now sadly closed down.
Pub first visited 2nd July 1982

Scotholme

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

This was a Shipstones tied house that was the last pub on this stretch of Radford Road,it was a sturdy corner pub which was on the corner of Gladstone Street.
The pub had a couple of rooms inside and was quite basic,the Shipstones Bitter and Mild were very nice here.
I am unsure of this pubs fate.
Pub first visited 27th November 1982

The next few pubs are still in Hyson Green but on other roads.

Carlton Hotel

Photo taken by Alan Winfield

This was a decent Shipstones tied house that was on Noel Street and just up from the notorious Hyson Green flats complex.
The pub had a decent bar room and a comfortable lounge,the Shipstones Bitter and Mild were very nice in this pub.
I have done the pub on many occasions and took my wife there a few times after Goose Fair.
The Carlton Hotel changed its name to the Frog & Onion but sadly it closed down a couple of years ago.
Pub first visited 2nd July 1982

The Albany
Photo taken by Alan Winfield
 
A large corner pub that was one of two pubs on Birkin Avenue.
The Albany was a Shipstones tied house,there were a few different rooms inside and the pub always had a rough edge when i went in it.
The Shipstones bitter was decent enough in this pub.
The pub is in an area which borders Radford and is very rough at anytime of the day.
Another pub to close down.
Pub first visited 10th September 1982.

This is a list of all know pubs in Hyson Green that i have done,the only pub not listed is the Clock which is on Craven Road and just off Birkin Avenue as this pub is still open.

A sad state of Nottinghams pub stock in Hyson Green will be repeated in other areas of the City in later posts titled Nottinghams Lost Pubs.



32 comments:

  1. There are some nice looking pubs in this group. Street view reveals that some have really felt the years since you took the photos. The Scotholme is a very nice looking pub.

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    1. Thanks for taking the time read my latest post Richard,
      The pubs may have looked nice but most were quite rough as this area of Nottingham is one of the rougher areas and had a really bad reputation back in the 80s,still not much better to this day but lacking in almost any pubs to go in.

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    2. My pleasure, actually. I look forward to Part 2 and more.

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  2. Hod did you find Hyson Green in Notttingham on street view from my post about the pubs there.

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    1. Dick's nickname is "the Navigator." When we travel he can usually identify down to the sign post what we will see five miles ahead. No surprise that he found this!

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    2. Thanks Dave.

      Alan, you gave helpful information on streets, especially intersections. I find it to be a challenge to locate pubs. I agree that the area looks very tough and in some places rundown. Would you have any hesitation of walking there now?

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    3. No i would not have any hesitation in walking in any rough areas,i have done all pubs in Nottingham which along with Manchester i rate as the roughest cities in England,the city centers may look nice but once outside Nottingham is almost rough in all areas and North and East Manchester are also very rough.
      I love doing pubs in the rough areas in anywhere in England,Scotland or Wales and have took my wife to loads of those rough pubs while on pub crawls or taking her to do pubs in Nottingham that she has not done.
      Many thanks for reading my blog and i will try and give details of street junctions to help you out on other posts on lost pubs.

      I was born in Nottingham and have lived in the city area all my life,i would be interested in what city you and your brother live in in the USA.

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    4. Dave lives in Minneapolis(Edina) and I live in the northwest suburbs of Chicago(Hanover Park).

      We have not yet made it to Nottingham. It was on the itinerary for a trip during 2012 but time was running late on our return to Newark(our base)from Derby. We will get there eventually.

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    5. I had a look at Hanover Park on street view,all i could see was loads of bungalows on a very long street with big front gardens,no shops or pubs from what i saw.
      Was i in the wrong area of Hanover Park,i was expecting to see large tower blocks and tenement buildings,how wrong can i be.

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  3. Some fine looking pubs in that selection...even if they were rough inside, but that's why I like pubs as buildings! It makes me wish that I'd started taking pictures of pubs much earlier than I did.

    I definitely like the larger pictures as I love looking at pictures of pubs!

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    1. Thanks Peter,
      I started taking photos from about 1982 but properly from 1986/1987 and now take photos of any pub i do,though never take photos of pubs i do not go in.
      I have thousands of pub photos to add to my blog,but may never get the time to add all of my photos and pub crawls to it.
      Thanks for reading Alan

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    2. Peter, seems you have some nice looking pubs on your blog, too.

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    3. Alan,
      Seems like you started in earnest about the same time as me..."great minds etc..."!! I used to only take pictures of pubs we went in on our canal trips, but now I've gone digital I will take pictures of pubs we don't go in, mainly because they might not be there next time we are in the area!

      Richard,
      Thanks for that!

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  4. A really great article Alan, I have been wanting someone to cover Hyson green and Radrofd for a ling time. I work near the area and have always had a huge intrigue about the pubs of Hyson green mainly because most of them I never got the chance to go in Because I was too young. My granddad was born on radford road and had a butchers near the langham I believe so there is a big connection there. I still keep faith that some day some of the pubs that are not completely converted could return if there is ever a gentrification/modernization of the area. i have always been really intrigued by the Albany as it is such a grand looking building on Birkin Avenue. Walking past I always try and get a glimpse inside but the blinds are always closed except one day last week there was one left partly open to which i peered in and saw the pub intact with bar, and all fixtures and fittings except obviously closed. I have seen on a Nottingham pub blog on Facebook of a Gentleman visiting, you can see pictures of his visit here, the pub is about halfway down the page: http://nottinghampubtour.blogspot.co.uk/search?updated-min=2012-12-31T16:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2013-10-08T16:00:00%2B01:00&max-results=50&start=13&by-date=false

    from what he says the pub was open as recently as 2013 and when i looked in there were some beer bottels on the bar and I have heard sounds of people inside the pub in evenings (still closed but noise from inside and some cars outside) then very recently a very discreet poster appeared in the window of the pub advertising some sort of event at "74 Birkin Avanue" which is the Albanys address without specifically saying it which leads me to believe that it is used as a private possibly illegal drinking den. nevertheless It is still furnished as a pub which means that it could return, I just wish there was someone with some information about it as its one i have always wanted to tick off my list. the long standing landlord Randolph Mclaren is still the registered landlord above the door (although this is faded) and is in some of the gentleman's pictures.

    Kind regards, Alex Conway

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    1. I was a student in 1977, living above the butchers shop opposite the Albany on Birkin Avenue. the pub was pretty rough that's for sure, but once the locals got to know you, we never had any trouble there. On the Queens Silver Jubilee weekend they sold beer at 1952 prices, it was carnage!!!!!

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  5. Replies
    1. Many thanks for reading my blog Alex,
      We meaning mates and then my wife used to drink in Hyson Green and Radford quite a lot,i have took photos of almost all of Nottinghams pubs that i have done since the late 70s but at later dates.
      The Albany was a very rough pub as were most in Hyson Green and Radford,i do not think i will see any gentrification of the area in my lifetime and i am now 54.

      Cheers Alan

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  6. can anybody help me out with the name sharman of the smiths arms Radford road hyson green

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  7. sid sharman landlord wife lou kids Christopher david and martin think they were twins

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  8. are you related to a Jackie Winfield from hyson green

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    1. No i am not related.
      There are a lot of people with the Winfield surname in the Nottingham area.

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    2. Hi Alan. Last week I had a couple of pints in the Riverside Farm in Nottingham. Great pints of Nottingham Pale.
      Hope you are recuperating well.
      Cheers

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    3. Hi Dan,
      A strange out of the way pub to do in Nottingham,i had a beer from Nutbrook brewery when i did the pub.

      I will send you an email about my poor health at some point,i have had no luck with lots of set backs.

      Cheers Alan

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    4. I remember jackie and her parents ken and Margaret. Lovely couple

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  9. i remember the Albany well but don't ever remember another pub on Birkin av the Albany had a large irish/polish drinking crowd in there in the 70s the same crowd used the smiths as well joe papp and Arthur the irish man always propping both bars up the Friday night anglo polish irish tour started at the moulders /alma/spread/marquies/british legion/finish smiths they were bared from Clarence /Langham /rad arms/and even polish club if u were in that gang and still alive love to hear from u and is irish mick who lived next door to spread and also was a dray man at shippos still kicking he had a couple of sons grand lads can not remember is sir name he also was cellar man at smiths

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  10. every body remembers were they was 16 aug 1977 ?I was in the smiths arms seam to think it was a sunday ?? elvis was dead

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  11. albert fipps was your mans name and irish Arthur was Scottish also polish joe sheetmetal worker from Birkin ave Elliot and reg both from pallin street the moulders was brand new pub then also mick pownall and mick marchbank from oldnow street and Burwell street now pulled down

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  12. I live in the USA but in 82/83 spent a lot of time visiting my family in Nottingham. My Aunt and Uncle were the landlords of The Cricket Players in Hyson Green. I have fond memories spending a few weeks there with my cousins. We did however, know not to go out at night. Lol

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  13. sid and his wife had there name above the door of the smiths arms from the early sixties until I think 1980,is wife died in the smiths in the late 70,s.i remember the outside toilets,they were always whitewashed and clean.I lived on Holland st,so it was my local,its was,nt rough,just a pub of its time,

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  14. Allen Winfield, your wrong about this area and pubs being rough, I was born just off shipstone st, and started going in the scotholme at 17,
    All the area from old g to the dicky bird was a fantastic night out, it was no rougher than anywhere else in Nottingham ,don't mislead people , obviously you didn't go out enough in these pubs to give a comment. Kev

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  15. Ahh the good old days (1975-90) to all my Rasta friends from the old concrete jungle above the cop shop.. Rev. H

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  16. Hys on green salt if the earth pubs my husband and myswere landlord and landlady at 3 pubs on the green. brewery sold us out to different people Scotholme was closed because of tram system not making anything enough to pay rent the brewery wanted we were so sad after the hard work

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